Healthcare Reform Act



Healthcare Reform Act

Introduction

The healthcare is possibly the best for the individuals who are rich but the same health care is highly costly and unaffordable to the poor. About 15% of the total population of America is uninsured while the public funded programs like Medicaid and Medicare merely covers specific individuals. Over the past period, a variety of methodologies for process improvement from manufacturing and service operations have been switched to healthcare. Healthcare is heading for a serious crisis worldwide. Reforming and improving healthcare is one of the most troublesome issues facing the United States, Europe, and, indeed, the rest of the world. Health reimbursement arrangements or health reimbursement accounts (HRAs), are Internal Revenue Service sanctioned programs, the participants and their families can get health reimbursements for private health expenditures. These accounts are funded by the employer and the employee can save on the cost of healthcare. The HRA is a beneficial program but nowadays the employers try their best to make sure that the employee is the one who pays the maximum cost.

Importance of HRA for the Uninsured vs. the Cost of Healthcare to the Same Population

The changes brought in the Medicaid laws have helped in reducing the monetary loss to the program to a considerable extent. Government brought these changes when they saw that the Medicaid plan is suffering from huge losses and people who should be availing the facility are unable to get it, instead people who can afford the medical care themselves and do not need the Medicaid plan, are using the facility (Dubay et al, 2006). The government has played a major role in improvising the laws and in bringing a huge change and in reducing the fraud and abuse in the program. The change has not only decreased the financial loss to the plan, but has also proved to be very beneficial for individuals, as well.

Need of medical care can be stressful enough without adding to the uncertainty and confusion of not having health insurance to help pay for needed services. Uninsured patients facing big bills sometimes go without treatment only to avoid the costs. However, uninsured patients retain more realistic options to help them get the care they need at a price they can afford (Garson, 2010). Some hospitals work with patients to ensure low-interest loans to cover the cost of health problems. Although the terms and conditions vary, the credit criteria are generally less stringent than most other forms of credit. These loans can also be used to help pay for the treatment - as plastic surgery - an insurance company refuses to cover insured patient. Increasing costs and decreasing coverage aren't the only factors bringing the employer-based healthcare system to its knees. The federal government has also taken a huge hit because of this financing mechanism, which not only doesn't require employees to pay income taxes on the healthcare benefits they receive hut also allows employers to deduct them from their taxes as ...